chicken tetrazinni!

this is pobably unlike any form of tetrazinni you've ever had. this is a recipe i learned in a four star italian resturaunt.

you'll need chicken! (floured fried and thin cut into chunks/slices, 1 for each person)

mushrooms (i use buttons but you can use any kind you like really, i suppose portabellos would go well with this, slice like the chiken of course or if you use buttons slice or 1/4 them)

onion (one whole onion, peel and then cut in half length wise than halved again turning it itno quarters. then slice those 1/4" thick.)

fresh basil! (i like alot but figure about 1/4 cup finely chopped, sounds like a lot but its not trust me)

a hard grated cheese, romano, asiago, either or both work well in this. one whole wedge of either, about 8 ounces then grated at home should be plenty. (i would say parmesean but its so common place i try not to use it)

heavy cream (a pint or two, depend on how much you plan on making, for 3-5 people, two pints)

fettucinni pasta (or linguine or you can use penne or bowties. either way soemthing flat or about the same size the the rest of the ingredients).

the chicken can be cooked head of time but doesnt have to be but does make this easier and faster if its been done ahead of time.

take a little oil (extre vigrin olive oil for its flavor AND healthful benefits) and pour into a pan with somewhat high sides on it. toss in the onions and mushrooms and saute them for a few minutes.

then pour in the cream. let it heat it up until it bubbles then toss in your romano and/or asiago cheese and stir. it should blend and thicken up the sauce some. (you can make the sauce up ahead of time by heating up the cream and blending in the cheese(s))

once the cheese has blended into the cream add the chicken. the flour from the chicken will help thicken up the sauce a little more.

then add the basil and let it simmer a few minutes to let the basil flavor seep into the mixture.(just a little bubbling is needed at this point!)

at is slowly simmers take your pasta (if you cooked it ahead of time) and drop into a pot of boiling water for about two minutes. drain and divide among the plates.

then spoon the mixture onto the plates of pasta and serve with LOTS of garlic bread.


speed is key with this recipe. the way i learned it was to make it fast so pretty much all the ingredients will have some firmness to them like the mushrooms and onions. the basil will not completely wilt and it shouldnt. everything should seem somewhat melded but not "overcooked" and you will know when it reaches that point. it should basically look smell and taste like it was all just thrown together and cooked for a short period of time. this is italian cooking at its finest and what it is really like.

enjoy!

Oh man, my friend's mom put it in a church cookbook years back, my mom makes it sometimes. She leaves the chicken in relatively large pieces, but I'd recommend cutting it in smaller bites. It breaks up the texture of the noodles to have large pieces of chicken in there.

Sounds pretty good, but I don't bread my chicken for it. I also usually make a more chickeny sauce (add some chicken stock, and some cream of chicken soup).

Damn, now I'm hungry, going to the kitchen!

Sounds good, I think I'll try it soon!